The Elementary Connections Group, formerly the Parent Advisory Committee, is devoted to bringing nature, families, educators, and the community together to create unique and memorable experiences that nurture our children's minds. The group is focused on building a stronger school community through experiences like elementary camps and family mentorships.
Ferndale Elementary Connections Group
Mentors/District Ambassadors
The Family Mentorship Program offers new-to-the-district families an opportunity to connect with an established FPS family, to help them feel welcome and supported. If this sounds like it would be a valuable program for you and your family, please register below.
Volunteering & Outreach
The Elementary Connections Group expanded a couple of years ago to include more school/classroom volunteering and outreach. Each year, we look for anyone interested in taking on the following roles:
Lower Elementary Classroom Volunteer Liaison
Upper Elementary Classroom Volunteer Liaison
Elder-Outreach Liaison
Below are basic summaries of the roles, but these can be molded to what is needed. If you are interested or have any questions, please reach out to ECG at ferndale.elementaryconnections@gmail.com.
Lower & Upper Elementary Classroom Volunteer Liaison
An individual for each school to work with the Parent Liaison, teachers and Principal. The Classroom Volunteer Liaison would determine what teachers need/want volunteers, if they have a Classroom Coordinator, encourage the use of family members for classroom volunteers, help to pinpoint best-practices for recruiting and communicating, etc. The Liaison would help to promote classroom volunteers and would assist in finding Classroom Coordinators, as needed.
Elder-Outreach Liaison
An individual to lead elder outreach via direct mail invitation. The goal is to encourage inter-generational learning and to incorporate elders from the community into Classroom Volunteering. Generally speaking, the elder community does not utilize online sign-ups, etc. As such, scheduling elder volunteers would require direct contact with both the elders and the school administration.
Camp
Ferndale Elementary and the Elementary Connections Group organizes and plans camps for each grade every school year. The camps are an opportunity for all students in Ferndale Elementary to participate in special activities in an outdoor setting. The First Fives, Kindergarten and 1st graders enjoy a one-day outdoor camp. The 2nd and 3rd graders have two days of camp. The 4th grade camp is two days with one overnight stay, and the 5th grade camp is three days and 2 nights.
Camp projects, trips, and activities are theme‐based, structured around the Common Core Curriculum, and strongly supported by our teachers and administrators. The themes rotate between My World, My Country and My Michigan. This year’s theme will be “My World”. Parents/guardians work with teachers to plan and facilitate these programs. Camp is not a field trip. Camp is so much more! Families come together to plan, coordinate, teach, and implement this wonderful outdoor learning experience for all our children.
In order to run Camp efficiently, 1 parent/guardian volunteer is needed for approximately every 3 students participating in Camp. Camp is entirely Parent/Guardian planned and run. Our wonderful teachers are there to approve parents/guardians’ Camp vision, review/approve lesson plans and oversee student behavior on the day-of, but otherwise, this day is basically for the teachers’ enjoyment and the parents to manage. Please see the individual camp tabs below for what volunteer positions are needed.
Camp Sponsors
Do you remember the first time you went away to camp? Did you make new friends, try new things, sit and enjoy a campfire? For students in Ferndale Elementary Schools, attending camp is an essential part of the school year. It provides an opportunity to take learning outside the classroom and into the community. ECG has a budget of just under $50,000. While the majority of the money comes from fees paid by families, there are a large number of those who cannot afford Camp. More than half of our Ferndale Elementary students qualify for free or reduced lunch. ECG ensures that EVERY child has the opportunity to go to Camp through fundraising and sponsors.
This is where we need your help. If you work for, own or know of a company that would be interested in sponsoring Ferndale Elementary Camp, please send us an e-mail.
As a sponsor, your business’ logo/name will be placed on the back of the annual Camp T-Shirt, one of the many Camp traditions. Every one of our students receive a shirt, which includes designs by fifth graders on the front. Additional details about each sponsorship level are listed below.
If you don’t see something you like, we can customize the sponsorship for you. Please contact us to reserve your spot today! Payments can be made electronically or you can make a check payable to “Ferndale Public Schools” with "ECG Sponsor" on the memo line.
Mailing Address:
Ferndale Upper Elementary
ATTN: ECG - Camp Sponsor
24220 Rosewood St.
Oak Park, MI 48237
Fundraisers
Elementary Connections Group plans and organizes group and individual fundraisers throughout the year. The individual fundraisers help families raise money for their child's camp costs. Below are the individual fundraisers we typically plan for the year and their current status:
Fall - Butter Braided Bread
Winter - Norwood Coffee Sales
Winter - Detroit Piston's Game
The Elementary Connections Group also hold several group fundraisers throughout the school year where the proceeds benefit the general camp scholarship fund for Ferndale Public Schools Elementary students and then general ECG funds for outdoor learning and community outreach. Below are the general fundraisers we typically plan for the year.
Spring - Just 4 Kicks Adult Variety/Talent Show
Friday, February 3rd, 2024 at 7:00pm at The Loving Touch
Contact Christina Mossine to plan an act, help or learn more!
Spring - Butterfly Larvae
If you are interested in assisting with one of the fundraisers, please send us an e-mail.